The Man Who Carried a Purse

Billy Graham is one of the most famous people in the world and has been a spiritual adviser to nearly all of the United States Presidents from Harry Truman to Barak Obama. Billy Graham held religious crusades around the world for more than fifty years with an audience of 2.2 billion people. He has received at least 20 honorary degrees and countless awards for his impact on world evangelism. His shoes were too great to fill.

As his son, Franklin followed his father and helped by speaking at his crusades. While he had some crowds of his own, they paled in comparison to his father's. Perhaps, it seemed, that he was not destined for his father's greatness.

In 1973 Franklin joined Bob Pierce, founder of Samaritan's Purse. Together they traveled around the world visiting relief projects and helping missionaries. In 1979, Franklin became the president following Pierce's death.

During the last twenty years, the organization has grown and developed large-scale relief projects around the world. Samaritan's Purse has provided medical support during the conflicts in Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. They have also repaired or rebuilt thousands of homes after earthquakes and hurricanes including Hurricane Katrina and most recently the earthquake in Haiti.

As of February 10, 2010, the international relief agency has shipped 14 tons of food and emergency supplies for orphaned children in Haiti. It has installed ten water filtration stations capable of providing 10,000 gallons of water each per day. It distributed supplies and relief to 43 orphanages, and chartered a ferry to help bring in 400 tons of heavy equipment for debris removal. The agency doctors have treated 1,500 patients.

All this is to say that even though Franklin's father was super-famous, he did not let it overshadow his own calling. In the beginning, his work did not receive the attention that his father's did. Yet today, you can see that he was doing exactly the right thing at the right time. The people of Haiti after their devastation did not need a man preaching a sermon, but a man carrying a purse.

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A native Oregonian, Laura Goss has a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, and in intercultural studies from Wheaton College. She taught English in China and Thailand, and has been teaching at Eugene Bible College since 2006. While living in the northwest, she enjoys camping, hiking, and outdoor photography.